I'm Done With Dining Out in 2026

I eat out every dinner and most lunches but I also live in Thailand. Tonight we are going to a noodle shop and it will probably cost about $6 for the two of us. Yesterday I went to a Korean burger place - burger + fries + Coke zero = $12 for me. My weekly western restaurant meetup with expats - western dinner + several drinks - typically $30. There is a wide range of prices but it's all good.

My wife and I are headed to the US in September. I visit every year. We are visiting NY City and Connecticut. I am prepared for the sticker shock but the US is a vacation for us.
 
sdawson said:
I'm done with dining out for every single family 'event' in our extended family. We can get together, do pot-luck, or backyard BBQ. The cost of eating out for the two of us at a budget restaurants is $50-$60 now ($20+ per plate plus tip). I don't enjoy the food really, I can make nicer and better quality meals at home for far less.

But paying over $20 for two tacos and rice and beans at the local Mexican restaurant, or $20 for a hamburger and fries at Red Robin, or $25 for fish-n-chips is ridiculous.

I did not blow our budget like this while saving for retirement, and see no reason to do so in retirement. I packed my lunches every day, made coffee myself, and we had to stretch our dollars by eating at home. But it seems like once a month now there is some 'event', a birthday, a job interview, mothers day, memorial day, any holiday really, or just 'it's Sunday so let's take out someone after church'

If the food were better, or less expensive, or something I could not make myself at home, I'd be more inclined, but that is not the case.

So I'm all in on pot luck or byo barbeque, but done with dining out.

Except -- on vacation or other travel.
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We have an Aldi within five minutes of our home. If I want steak done right, then I buy the ribeye. The quality of the ribeye steaks at Aldi is as good as the steaks I have purchased at more expensive grocers. However, Aldi has two versions of the ribeye, and only one version is worth the dollars. I don't buy the twin-packs, just the singles.
 
Riding out to a grill and saloon in the mountains for breakfast tomorrow.
Probably $20 + tip ~ $25 for ice tea and breakfast. I will spend a lot less on gas, even if we take the scenic 100+ mile route home.

They have good food, but it's not really about the food. It's the atmosphere, but mostly the friends, and the ride in the mountains.
 
We do not out anymore unless we have no other choice. The food is mostly overpriced or sub standard in our opinion. We cook way better at home. Things have changed since since a couple of years ago. Used to be way better. Their loss.
 
MC Rider said:
They have good food, but it's not really about the food. It's the atmosphere, but mostly the friends, and the ride in the mountains.
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This is so true. Much of our social life takes place in restaurants. It's a convenient gathering spot where we can gather and share a great meal and have plenty of time to chat without worrying about cooking or serving or cleaning up before or after.

Tuesday night we met friends for dinner in Philadelphia which was relatively convenient for all of us. Wednesday we met other friends for lunch and some wandering around shops. Last night we met another couple for dinner before all going to our local liquor store for a tasting event.
 
Restaurants are the remaining "third space" where people meet, but the food quality has gone downhill at most places. One restaurant I know of used to be fantastic - every meal was superb - then their waitstaff went downhill, then the food. Used to go every other week, haven't been there since last fall. There are a few small places that are consistent and still good (and reasonably priced), mostly family-run Asian restaurants.

Our state got rid of lower wages for tipped employees years ago but not only did this cause restaurant prices to go up, we're still expected to tip 20% for basic service, which just makes eating out even more expensive.

This can be managed a bit but it's still a ripoff and I'd rather meet at a coffee shop. One social group I meet with goes to a pub, beers are cheaper than a meal and they let us bring in our own food.
 
Paid $52/lb for prime filets and still came out ahead of steakhouse pricing. And our meal was better! Dinner for 2 came out to around $75, including sides and wine, with most of that going to the steaks. (We had 6 for dinner, but I did the math for 2.) Same meal at our favorite steakhouse? At least $250. And not as good. And I’d have to curtail my alcohol intake or else take Uber, which adds to the costs (and hassle).

Reverse seared filets, with spinach salad, baked sweet potatoes and a beautiful cab.

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disneysteve said:
This is so true. Much of our social life takes place in restaurants. It's a convenient gathering spot where we can gather and share a great meal and have plenty of time to chat without worrying about cooking or serving or cleaning up before or after.

Tuesday night we met friends for dinner in Philadelphia which was relatively convenient for all of us. Wednesday we met other friends for lunch and some wandering around shops. Last night we met another couple for dinner before all going to our local liquor store for a tasting event.
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Well, Philadelphia! That’s a whole different ballgame compared to around here. I remember eating in an Italian restaurant that was just like meals I’d had in northern Italy - fabulous!
 
Sometimes after eating at home, I go out for dessert. Today, I walked over 4 miles passing by Dairy Queen and got a $1 small dip cone using the app deal.
 
Whakamole said:
Restaurants are the remaining "third space" where people meet, but the food quality has gone downhill at most places.
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That’s unfortunate if it’s true in your area. It is definitely not the case here. There is a vibrant restaurant scene both on our side of the river in NJ and across the bridge in Philly. Michelin stars. James Beard awardees. And many chef-owned places with fantastic food. Certainly there are plenty of mediocre places but there’s really no reason to go to them. I honestly don’t know what keeps some places in business when there are plenty of far better choices nearby.
 
Foid quality seem to have dropped as prices have risen and I’ve really cut back on eating out because of it. I don’t mind paying, but I expect the food to be tasty and generally better than what I can cook at home. When we do go out, we go to pricier restaurants where at least the food is good. Given that we don’t go out as frequently because of the cost v. quality, it works out to about the same monthly restaurant cost
 
I feel like you shared with us your personal price sensitivity when it comes to dining out. We all have that "breaking point" soft coded somewhere and for you those are restaurants. For me it's Uber and other car sharing services. I hate spending $$ for that if there's an option of public transit available.
 
Just returned from Europe and definitely felt the self-imposed pinch after petrol @ $11/gal & 2 weeks of eating out (except for the Aldi in Interlaken). If only we had Aldi's like that here... Swiss food just doesn't do it for me, however Dolomites & halfboard is the way to BTD. Egg yolk ravioli and some kind of smoky bacon butter below. Can't get this back home...

Yesterday was the first meal home with filets, roasted veggies, salad and wine. One of our best meals for 4...under $50.

I'm exhausted from eating out... Looking forward to cooking exactly what I want.
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I'm surprised I did not comment here previously. Anyway, DW and I enjoy eating out, once or twice a week. Neither of us are big eaters, so more often than not we share one entree; that is not a sacrifice and at the places we go to it is more than enough. There are a couple of places, in particular, we enjoy that are especially pricey; we go to them only a handful of times per year. We're inured to the prices.
 
engineernerd said:
I recently read a dismaying article about the monopolization of the restaurant-supply business that said even the "little guys" have little choice now about buying their bulk ingredients from, I think it was Sysco.
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Ah, the ubiquitous Sysco "side salad". Iceberg lettuce, shreds of radicchio and carrot for a but of color and if it's upscale, shredded pasteurized process cheese food on top. That, and plastic tableware, paper napkins, etc., and busing your own table are dealbreakers for me.

A friend and I have a favorite local Mexican restaurant, owned by a family in my neighborhood. We also like First Watch for brunch although it's gotten expensive. The only other times I dine out are with DS and family. It was a whole lot cheaper when the little ones ate from whatever their parents ordered! They're 12, 9 and 7 now so get their own meals. I've learned to appreciate paces with a good kids' menu- not just the usual burger, mac and cheese and chicken fingers, but smaller, maybe less-spicy versions of items on the adult menu. We were at PF Chang's last month and the Orange Chicken was a big it although their technique for using chopsticks was to stab the Orange Chicken pieces with them. I'm moving to be near them in Des Moines and they have a lot of good, non-chain restaurants there. My 7-year old grandson's favorite has alligator meat on the menu.

ETA: "Fine dining". I'm back on Match since I'm moving and i's one of the phrases I see in profiles. I had plenty of fine dining experiences in my career and still do in some of my international travels, but wouldn't want to be with someone who had meals like that weekly. Just not my value system.
 
We only eat out when we are on a cruise ship. Then only at the specialty restaurants or in the premium restaurant dedicated to the suite guests or premium tiers, (The Haven, Yacht Club, Sanctuary, Retreat etc.). We never eat at the horse trough, AKA the buffet. I prefer the steak restaurants and DW the Italian and French. I guess as we did on average one cruise a month last year and to date, we have eaten out a lot this year and last. But we never eat out when we are at home, of course we have to when traveling away from home.
 
athena53 said:
We also like First Watch for brunch although it's gotten expensive.
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For some reason, I almost always go for the Farm Stand Breakfast Tacos. Mmmm! And, yes, I go for the black beans. The wait staff always ask if you are happy with the black beans. They must have a lot of folks that want something else.
 
Different strokes. If anything we eat out more often, despite the admittedly high prices, at better restaurants than ever. And we're above average home cooks. We prepare most of our meals at home, but we like having someone else do the cooking (and cleanup) 4 times a week - 3 dinners, 1 breakfast. We often go to restaurants that use ingredients or techniques that are hard to replicate at home. e.g. we don't have a 900F pizza oven.
 
Midpack said:
We often go to restaurants that use ingredients or techniques that are hard to replicate at home. e.g. we don't have a 900F pizza oven.
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They're inexpensive. We bought a propane pizza over for $200 and use it on a regular basis.
 
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